As high rents continue to drive artists out of London, the UK's seaside towns are set to become the creative hubs of the country, according to British artist Bob and Roberta Smith.
Bob and Roberta Smith ? the pseudonym used by artist Patrick Brill ? said that the increasing cost of living in the capital will benefit cities in the north of England, and will also have a huge impact on seaside towns across the country.
"The north is going to become an incredible centre for art, and all these seaside towns are as well, because they are underused as a facility and they are amazing places to be," he told Dezeen.
The artist is one of the participants of this year's Folkestone Triennial, an art festival that takes place in an old port town in Kent. He claimed that Folkestone, and other British seaside towns, will transform in the same way Brooklyn did when Manhattan rents rose. "It would be a much better life living down in Folkestone, and when that happens all these places will become like Brooklyn, and that's a good thing, it brings jobs in other ways as well," he said.
Artists are already moving out of London
A number of high-profile artists have already swapped London for towns on the British coastline. For instance, last year Tracey Emin announced she was moving her studio to the Kent coast.
Bob and Roberta Smith has set up his own studio Ramsgate, also on Kent's coast, to make the most of cheaper rents. However he splits his time with London, where he ...